category
FORT SAN PEDRO
Fuerte de San Pedro is a military defence structure, built by Spanish and indigenous Cebuano labourers under the command of Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi and the Spanish Government in Cebu. It is located in the area now called Plaza Indepedencia, in the pier area of the city. The smallest, oldest triangular bastion fort in the country was built in 1738 to repel Muslim raiders. In turn, it served as a stronghold for Filipino revolutionaries near the end of the 19th century. This served as the nucleus of the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines.
MAGELLAN CROSS
Magellan's Cross is a Christian cross planted by Portuguese, and Spanish explorers as ordered by Ferdinand Magellan upon arriving in Cebu in the Philippines on (depending on source) March 15 , 1521.[1][2]
Magellan's Cross.
This cross is housed in a chapel next to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño on Magallanes Street (Magallanes being the Spanish name of Magellan), just in front of the city center of Cebu City. A sign below the cross describes the original cross is encased inside the wooden cross that is found in the center of the chapel. This is to protect the original cross from people who chipped away parts of the cross for souvenir purposes or in the belief that the cross possesses miraculous powers.[3] Some people, however, believe that the original cross had been destroyed or had disappeared after Magellan's death, and the cross is a replica that was planted there by the Spaniards after they successfully colonized the Philippines.
The Minor Basilica of the Holy Child (Spanish: Basílica Minore del Santo Niño), commonly known as Santo Niño Church, is a minor basilica in Cebu City in the Philippines that was founded in the 1565. It is the oldest Roman Catholic church established in the country on the spot where the image of the Santo Niño de Cebú, a statue depicting the Child Jesus was found in 1565 by Spanish explorers led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. The Holy See calls the temple the "Mother and Head of all Churches in the Philippines" (mater et caput... omnium ecclesiarum Insularum Philippinarum).[3] The image is the same statue given by Ferdinand Magellan to the wife of Rajah Humabon as a gift over forty years after Humabon's baptism to Christianity on April 14, 1521. It was found by a soldier preserved in a burnt wooden box after Legazpi razed the village of hostile natives.[1] When Pope Paul VI made the church a basilica in 1965, he said it was "the symbol of the birth and growth of Christianity in the Philippines."[4] The present building, which was completed from 1739-1740, has housed the oldest religious image in the country ever since. History Previous churches The church of the Holy Child was founded by an Augustinian priest, Andrés de Urdaneta, on April 28, 1565. The first church and convent were built out of earth, hard wood and nipa. Both structures burned down on November 1, 1566. In 1605, Rev. Pedro Torres started the construction of its replacement. The second church was completed in 1626, but was also destroyed by fire, in March 1628. It was rebuilt immediately under the administration of Rev. Juan de Medina[5] with stone and bricks, but construction was stopped because of problems with the integrity of the bricks being used.[1] Present church Fernando Valdés y Tamon, the Spanish governor of the Philippines, ordered the church in 1735 to be constructed of hard stone. Father Provincial Bergaño, Governor-General Fernando Valdes, Bishop Manuel Antonio Decio y Ocampo of Cebu and Rev. Juan de Albarran, Prior of the Santo Niño, started the foundations of the church on 29 February 1735.[1] Construction was designed and led by Rev. Juan de Albarran, and it was completed in 1739 or 1740.[2] The convent and library were later added and completed in 1764. In 1965, during the fourth centenary of the Christianization of the Philippines, Pope Paul VI elevated the church to the rank of minor basilica; it remains under the care of the Order of St. Augustine.
Colon Street is a crowded street in downtown Cebu City that is often called the oldest and the shortest national road in the Philippines. It is named after Christopher Columbus. It traces its origins to the town plan by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the Spanish conquistador who arrived in the Philippines to establish a colony in 1565.
Colon, a bit run-down now, was the site of fashionable shops, offices and movie houses. It was once the heart of Cebu City's shopping and business activity, but in recent years (specifically during the early 1990s), much of this activity has shifted inland to the more modern, bigger and diverse commercial and business districts now spread in almost all of the urban areas of the city in what used to be considered residential and leisure settlements.[1]
In 2006, the Cebu City Council proposed a plan to close parts of Colon street from vehicular traffic and convert it to a tourism zone.[2] However, this was met with much opposition from businessmen and motorists due to concerns regarding security and parking spaces.[3]
The Heritage of Cebu Monument is a tableau of sculptures made of concrete, bronze, brass and steel showing scenes about events and structures related to the history of Cebu. The construction of the monument began in July 1997 and it was finished in December 2000. Local artist Eduardo Castrillo built the sculptures of the Cebu Heritage Monument. He and the late Senator Marcelo Fernan together with donations from other private individuals and organizations funded the construction of the monument. The structures depicted in the Heritage Monument are the Basilica del Santo Niño, the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, the Saint John the Baptist Church, the Magellan’s Cross, and a Spanish Galleon. The scenes depicted in the Heritage Monument are the baptism of Rajah Humabon, a procession of the Santo Niño, a Roman Catholic mass, and the Battle of Mactan between Lapu-Lapu and Ferdinand Magellan. The persons depicted in the monument include the late president Sergio Osmena Sr. and Blessed Pedro Calungsod. The Heritage Monument is located in the historic Parian District, which during the Spanish period was home to the residences of the most prominent families in Cebu at that time. The St. John the Baptist Church previously stood on the site of the monument’s location. However, the diocese of Cebu demolished the church in 1875. You can also visit the other nearby historical spots in the Parian District, which are the Casa Gorordo Museum and the Yap-San Diego House. The Yap-San Diego House is part of the Casa Gorordo Museum complex, which is a private museum open to the public. The museum complex highlights the lifestyle of a rich household in Cebu during the Spanish era and displays antique furnishings, clothes, kitchen equipment and utensils, and other antique items.
The Casa Gorordo Museum is a 19th century lifestyle museum and the centerpiece project of the Cultural Heritage Program of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. The house itself was built in the 1850’s and originally owned by Alejandro Reynes y Rosales. It was bought by Juan Isidro Gorordo, a Spanish merchant, in 1863. Four generations of the Gorordo family have lived in this house including Bishop Juan Gorordo, the first Filipino bishop. The girth of the structure is evidenced by the massive stonewalls on the lower portion of the house. Made of coral stones, these walls are good protection from fire and typhoon. The huge posts of molave or tugas extend from the basement to support the clay tile roof. Its wide windows of sliding panels are fitted with translucent capiz shells. After it was acquired, the house was first renovation between 1980 and 1981. It was officially opened to the public on December 15, 1983. In 2005, a major renovation was undertaken to replace aging structures. In recognition of the historical and social significance of the house, the National Historical Institute (NHI) conferred on the Casa Gorordo Museum the title “National Landmark” in 1991.
History Museo Sugbo is housed in what was once called Cárcel de Cebú, the provincial jail of Cebu. Designed in 1869 by Domingo de Escondrillas, the lone architect in Cebu at the time, the Cárcel de Cebú was originally proposed as the Cárcel del Distrito, the main prison for the Visayas District. This accounts for its relatively large size at the time it was built. After a flurry of endorsements and independent review in Manila, the project was approved and construction commenced around 1871. It is believed that most of the coral stone blocks from the Parian church – which was demolished in 1878 after the Bishop of Cebu won a long-drawn court case against its parishioners in the 1850s – were used to build parts of the cárcel. After twenty years of use, a renovation was ordered in 1892, which added more buildings behind the main structure that now serves as the first six galleries of the museum. Records are not clear as to when the second storey of the main building was added, but the architectural design suggests this to be during the American colonial period. The gaol housed not only criminals in its 135-year history. During the revolution, many of the Katipuneros were incarcerated here without trial and many of them were eventually executed in nearby Carreta cemetery. During the early years of the American period, the gaol served as a stable for horses competing at the hipódromo (racetrack) nearby, but it was eventually used once again as a prison, both for the city and the province. During the Japanese occupation, guerrillas were imprisoned here after enduring torture under the hands of the Kempeitai, the Japanese secret police. After the war, many of the collaborators in Cebu were also imprisoned here. From the 1950s to 1976, the front section of the gaol served as the city jail, while the three structures behind were used as the provincial jail. The cárcel changed names twice, first during the American through the post-War periods when it was called the Cebu Provincial Jail. In the 1980s, the name was changed to Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC). Cárcel de Cebú as Museo Sugbo Following the transfer of CPDRC to a more spacious and modern prison complex in December 2004 the gaol was converted into Museo Sugbo, the repository of Cebuano heritage, a feat that was realised when the first four galleries of the museum were inaugurated on August 5, 2008. On August 13, 2009, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and Dr. Ambeth Ocampo, chair of the National Historical Institute, led dignitaries in unveiling a National Historical Marker at Museo Sugbo. They also inaugurated the Visayas Branch of the Museum of Philippine Political History. Directly opposite this branch museum, the governor and National Museum director Corazon Alvina also inaugurated the National Museum Cebu Branch Galleries. Both museum branches occupy separate buildings within the Museo Sugbo complex. Two special exhibitions were also inaugurated during this event: Sen. Vicente Rama Memorabilia and the Gregorio and Jovito Abellana Memorabilia, in two separate galleries. Also inaugurated during this event was the Well of Good Fortune and Happiness on a Spanish-era well that was unearthed when the rear portion of the Museo Sugbo complex was being refurbished in 2009. At the same time four more galleries were added to the Museo, bringing the total to 10. Two more galleries are currently being developed with inauguration set for 2010: a Provincial Art Gallery and the Cebu Media Gallery. A reproduction of prison life is also being planned within one of the bartolinas (isolation cells) in the former prison complex, another of which is being developed into a gift shop.
> CEBU TAOIST TEMPLE
The temple is the center of worship for Taoism, the religion which follows the teachings of the ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao Zi. Another ritual among Taoist devotees, which is done during Wednesdays and Sundays,[3] is the climbing of its 81 steps (representing the 81 chapters of Taoism scriptures) to light joss sticks and have their fortune read by the monks. Some guide books and travel agencies offer trips to the temple or as a side-trip in a tour around Cebu City. But it is more popular with grade school students. The entrance to the temple is a replica of the Great Wall of China. The temple includes a chapel, a library, a souvenir shop and a wishing well. The spacious balconies offer a scenic view of the downtown Cebu.
Lapu-Lapu (fl. 1521) was a ruler of Mactan in the Visayas. The Philippines regards him as the first Filipino hero because he was the first native to resist Spanish colonization through his victory over the explorer Ferdinand Magellan. Monuments of Lapu-Lapu have been built in Manila and Cebu while the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection use his image in his honor.
other spots if time permits
cebu best food
cebu best pasalobong
schedule
| bus time | place | pier |
|---|---|---|
| 21:30 | argao | 85php |
| 23:45 | alcoy | 105php |
schedule
| bus time | place | pier |
|---|---|---|
| 21:30 | argao | 85php |
| 23:45 | alcoy | 105php |